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I have been back in the United States for over a month now and I haven't given "Journey to St. Petersburg" the conclusion it deserves. So, without further ado...

Goodbye Russia.

I had a blast while I was there. The housing situation was dreadful and my host mom didn't understand what not being able to eat something meant, but overall, it was a fantastic experience.

When I came back, I showed my family and friends many of the pictures from my trip and was able to tell them all about it. I don't like speaking (I barely felt happy keeping up this blog at the end), so I told my grandmother that it was her responsibility to lead the even along by asking questions. That is how I am going to present this to you.

What was the weather like?

Cold. Really cold. Nothing can fully describe just how cold it was I felt there. You just have to go and experience it for yourself. ...And I didn't even stay for the worst part of the winter....

How was the food?

It was good. There were, of course, foods I couldn't eat. Tvorog made me really sick. Cucumbers were finally granted to me at the end of my stay. Georgian and Azerbaijani food was really delicious. Schaste really was the "home of happiness".... Food is good.

How was the culture?

Russia is definitely a male dominated society. As displayed by the male companion Hot Stuff and I hated so much, men can get away with almost anything and it is treated as a normal thing. Come home drunk? Normal.  Want to purchase semi-automatic weapons? Normal. Sexually harass and threaten women? Normal.

Now, I would like to point out that it was only the older generation who treated things as though it were nothing. The younger generation hated that all of this was happening, but they weren't the ones who could do anything about it.

How was school?

School was interesting. It was open note/open friend for tests, our papers were in English, our teachers talked to us in English at times... Overall, the classes were really easy. It made me miss the waterfall of papers I am experiencing now.

How was Russia?

Now this is a really broad question. In short, it was an amazing city and I found myself captivated by the beauty of the architecture, parks, and overall atmosphere of St. Petersburg. My only regret is that I didn't see enough. Don't get my wrong, I saw plenty. I just wish I could have seen more.

I miss the people who made me enjoy my time there. My first host and her husband, our counselor at Nevsky, the friends I made. They were all so important to me having such a great time. I would have been miserable without them all.

Well, this is the end. Thank you for reading the little bits and pieces I put when I finally convinced myself to blog.

Now that I only have one week left...

So, thanks to my wonderful family, I am heading home next Saturday. I miss the US so much. The other day, Hot Stuff and I were going through a list of things we were looking forward to most. Today, I added "the celebratory smashing of this stupid Russian cell phone" to the list. The little red block of a phone that only allows calls, texts, and radio has caused me more grief over the last few months than I would have liked. But I didn't decide to actually post something just to rejoice in the fact that I'm leaving it behind.

Winter is definitely here. It started snowing earlier this week and hasn't let up since. Luckily the temperature has managed to stay in the low 20's, but I am so sick of snow right now. Don't get me wrong, the snow is pretty to look at, but when you have to walk in it... yeah...

I was going to take pictures, but, by the time I go outside, feet and cars have managed to turn the snow into a brown sludge, and the parts that are still white are hard to photograph without getting something ugly in it. Hopefully, I will be able to get out early enough sometime this week. It's too pretty not to share. Just hoping my great state manages to not have snow come in before I get there. Otherwise, I will be sad. T_T

As I'm leaving in a week, I'm going to inform you of the things everyone needs to know if they ever plan on coming here. Some advise, said or not, that will help with your future travels. I will post something every day.

Rule #1

Plan out what you want to see and go early. The Hermitage experiences so much traffic that there is a line outside. If you go early, the chances of your entry depending on how many people leave are significantly dropped. Other places are just so vast, you want to go early in order to see as much as possible. Also, by planning where you want to go, you can research the dates and times they are open so that you don't manage to go when it's closed....

Almost There

Exactly 3 weeks from now, I will be in Detroit. I will probably be wide awake due to the time change and excitement. At that point, I will be on my 108th day away from life as I am used to it. While I have enjoyed my time here, there are comforts from America that just can't be replaced.

1. Food

Everyone misses the food they are used to, especially if it's something they can't get outside of the country. In my case, I miss so many things. I realize that a few items on my list, such as Arabic food in general, ice cream, and seafood, I can get in many places. But I'm specific about what I want. I want Arabic food prepared by Parker's mother. I don't just want seafood, I want a crab boil, and not even Haagen-Dazs can compare to my love of a Braum's banana split.

As for the items not on my list... Ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, barbecue in general, a GOOD hamburger, meat cooked well in general.... sweet potatoes... I can't wait to go home and just pig out. Maybe then I won't look like death.

2. "Normal" Household

I know that the definition of normal widely varies from person to person. You may be used to something I am not, and vice-versa, but I am just ready to be inside an American home again.

For starters, I would actually like to be inside a house. I know I would feel differently if I lived in different places, but this lack of homes just feels so wrong. I don't like hearing everything that goes on in the apartment next door/above/below. I don't want to deal with these poorly insulated walls. I would like a house, please. Not only that, but I would like some of the things I am used to about a house. Like a real shower. One that doesn't require you to only use the handheld thing. I really think I'm going to take a bath when I get back to the states, something I don't know if some people here have ever done. I would also appreciate a toilet that doesn't smell like a porta potty.

That brings me to my next point. I would actually like to see cleaning supplies. From what I've noticed these past few months, the mentality here is "if it looks clean, it must be clean" or "eh, I'm not cleaning it." While my desk may look like a tornado took over thanks to notebooks and papers being spread all over it, I am willing to be you, it is the cleanest surface in this apartment. Once a week, I clear everything off, wipe down the table cloth, and put everything back. The other surfaces... let's just say I sat down to take off my shoes and dust came up from the stool. I really think the only two things that get cleaned (really and truly cleaned) in this apartment are the entry and the kitchen counter. I am not the most likely to be motivated enough to clean something, but after three months, you would have thought something would have been attacked.

3. Driving and Feeling Safe About It

I know that the first time I get behind the wheel of a car will probably to drive around the block, but even if I have to go on the interstate after four months without driving, I will feel more comfortable than I do crossing the street here. Drivers here have NO idea what they are doing. I can't wait to go back to America and, while not everyone follows every driving law out there, the police actually enforce them. The only time I have heard a police siren while I have been here has been in this week, and that's only because of the increasing tourism for the holidays.

4. Music

The music being played here is either really crappy Russian pop, crappy European pop, or Western pop that the US has either rejected or been sick of a while back. And, while I'm sure they are perfectly happy with it, I am sick of the pop. I want something heavy. In the words of Becoming the Archetype, "Make it sound nasty." I actually got to ask a guy where he got his metal, and he only confirmed my findings. They get it from streaming radio from England or, if they are lucky, the US.

::sigh:: I will be happy to be home.

In other new, I finally was able to eat the one food I had been banned from. Cucumbers. It was glorious. After all, it isn't cucumbers that make me sick. It is Russian "cottage cheese" called Tvorog.

Ok. I need to get back to my papers.

Cooking in Russia (aka: Operation Thanksgiving 2012)

As to be expected, food in Russia is VERY different than what I am used to. If you haven't already, go read my post on fish soup. But one thing Hot Stuff and I didn't think much of until it actually happened, was cooking a meal.

OPERATION THANKSGIVING 2012

Thanksgiving is the second largest US holiday, beaten only by Christmas. This day is usually meant as an excuse to gather the family together and eat otherwise elephant sized portions, but it is worth it.... until you do it all again a month later. Since there is no family to be seen here is Russia, and homesickness had begun to take over, Hot Stuff and I planned this day in the kitchen as best as we could having somewhat of a knowledge of what ingredients we would be able to find. Despite our planning, when we went to get the ingredients... Let's just say our recipes changed. The traditional turkey, for example, became a Thanksgiving chicken, which just sounds wrong. It was delicious, but that whole ordeal will come in a bit.

Since I was only allowed over to cook for one day, Hot Stuff had to try to make my family's rolls without me. She followed the directions and it failed miserably. The dough just didn't rise, which was weird since these rolls rise in the refrigerator. While I was making a new batch the next day, which ended beautifully, she went ahead and prepared the failed dough for baking. It actually rose, but it still wasn't as magical as the second batch. We did, however, add apple pie filling to some of the dough (best idea EVER), and turned another bit into cinnamon rolls, which needed more cinnamon, but were still rather tasty.

As, I mentioned before, the bread was a family recipe, which, like the rest of our recipes for the day, means the measurements were in U.S. customary and not SI. If you cannot eyeball a recipe, I recommend NOT trying to change measurements. I really think our meal would have failed had we not been able to say, "This looks like it would be about a cup."

Rolls ended up working out, but what about the sides, and what was the problem with the chicken?

For sides, we made mashed potatoes with onions and garlic (yummy), broccoli and cauliflower casserole, and candied carrots. You remember up above when I mentioned that recipes had to change? The carrots are a great example of that. There is no brown sugar in St. Petersburg. If you can find it, let me know, because we could not. Instead, we used regular sugar and vanilla sugar. It actually turned out really well.

While the sides ended up being delicious, the main problem we ran into, was not having enough cookware. All of the things that needed to be baked were immediately transferred to a plate or bowl when they came out of the oven, just so we could turn around and use the baking sheet again, the pot for the potatoes was originally used to brine the chicken, etc. It was a disaster zone not having everything you needed.

The chicken was supposed to be the centerpiece of the meal (having originally been a turkey in our game plan). We began to prepare the chicken and then realized something. Unlike the US, where any bird you buy is nice and clean, this chicken still had to have feathers and hairs plucked from the skin. We just opted for cooking the chicken and serving it skinless after giving up. It was rather tasty, but that fact alone almost made  Hot Stuff and I abandon the chicken and purely having sides and rolls for dinner (something that unintentionally happened anyway).

Overall, it was a great meal and a great experience, but, while I will hopefully get the opportunity to cook again, I believe Hot Stuff and I are agreed that it will never be on that kind of scale. We commend all who manage to cook like that, and now realize why Russian dishes are meant to be made in large quantities.

Long Time No Post

It's been... I don't even want to know how long since I last posted. Why? The answer is rather simple. Life has gotten in the way.

I don't normally keep things up like this, but I wanted to keep my family updated. Normally, I just do whatever and don't really care, but whenever your grandmother emails you asking if you are still alive... well, it's time to get out from behind whatever it may be and post a blog entry.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am, in fact, alive and well. My brain feels like it's going to either explode or shrivel up and die, but I am physically doing alright.

Let's see... what has happened since my last update.... hmmm...

Since I have no idea what I posted about last (and am far too lazy to just save this post and go look), I will just tell you about it all.

In the past few weeks, Hot Stuff and I have managed to see several museums (I highly recommend the Museum of Communications), the rest of Yelagin Island (the island with the park we should have gone to the first time) and the palace and museums there, practically the entire Peter and Paul Fortress, and a great deal of other things.

Since I am being lazy, I am going to share Mappy-Map 2.0 with you. Yes, this is the name Hot Stuff and I have given to this particular map. The other maps we have suck. If it is bold (i.e. circled in black pen), we have seen it. We have also seen many other things not visible to you, either because the map doesn't have it marked, the location has been outside of the city center (Peterhof, Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, etc.), because I haven't managed to mark them yet, or because of the glare (I'm sorry, but you can't expect to take the best pictures of a map).

I know these aren't the best pictures, but I tried to give you some overlap in order to give you a general idea of where things are located. I know you can't read the map anyway, but #2 has the Fortress at the bottom; #3 has (from left to right) the statue from Catherine the Great to Peter the Great, St. Isaac's cathedral, the Hermitage, the Kazan Cathedral, and the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood/Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; and the last one has the Alexander Nevsky monastery.

Since my last post, I have also managed to see a parade of people dancing in circles and chanting on their way to the Russian Museum and, almost immediately after, find one of the sketchiest streets in St. Petersburg. If you ever plan on going, just ask me which places to avoid.

The video was much better....

I'm sorry that this post wasn't very educational or thought provoking, but my term papers are eating away whatever brain power I have left.

A Little More Culture. A Little Less Caring About Blogging.

I finally have pictures of things and, while I am rather happy about this, I have lost all motivation to go through them or even post them here. I honestly get home for the day and don't want to touch my computer. I, however, have an obligation to my family to keep them informed and assure them that I am perfectly safe, so I am going to post something, turn off my computer, and do something I believe to be a bit more productive.

My companion and I have recently been marking more and more off of our maps. I have a feeling the majority of it will have a rather thick outline by the time I return home. Yesterday, we managed to go to the Museum of Music and Mikailovskiy Castle, as well as see some pretty fascinating things.

The Museum of Music was rather interesting. It was small, but its collection of instruments was breathtaking from the collection of pianos to the harpsichord to the Stradivarius hanging proudly. It actually gave me the desire to play a classical instrument, and, if even for a moment, classical music didn't seem as painful to listen to.

The castle was also rather interesting. I, however, would not have called this a castle. When one thinks of a castle, one does not think of what I went into, but rather something more like the castles in Scotland, Ireland, England, France etc. This was almost as though a palace had been built around a square. Don't get me wrong, despite size, the castle was rather stunning on the inside, with pictures of the Tsars and their wives and with detail put into ever square inch of the place, but I just wasn't very impressed. If you compare this castle to, say, the Winter Palace, you would think the palace was far more magnificent.

Speaking of the Winter Palace, Hot Stuff and I finished the Hermitage on Saturday.

It was a really beautiful and really big place. As it is a rainy day, I am not motivated enough to post many pictures  to show you just how gorgeous and just how vast the Hermitage's collections are. Instead, I will just leave you with the one statue (a personal favourite of mine), and let you figure out what it is.

It has been awhile since my last post. Hot Stuff and I have been going out and seeing so much lately that I've simply been too exhausted to post about anything. She definitely has a lot more energy than I do, as she has been posting a lot more about what we have seen. I, on the other hand, have been using my last bits of energy on other things that do not pertain to this blog in the slightest.

In the last week, I have been to the Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, many churches, the Yusupov Palace, the only synagogue in Russia, and finally managed to make it to the Hermitage. It has definitely been catching up to me, so I am going to spend this post giving a small blurb about each of the places we have seen and will, hopefully, get to writing a full post in the near future.

Day 1:

Near Mayakovskaya Metro

Church of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (Chesme Church)

 This church has become famous for it's graveyard. It has been the burial place of soldiers since it's consecration. It is most famous as the burial place of the soldiers who during the Siege of Leningrad.

Statue of Lenin

 This particular statue of Lenin is apparently the largest Lenin statue in St. Petersburg at approximately 16 meters (52.5 feet) in height. Considering this statue is not very far from our next destination, it's locations seems fitting.

Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.

This monument is incredible. It tells so much history in such little space. Along with this statue, there is an obelisk and a hall, in which, the history of the 900 day Nazi siege of Leningrad is told.

Near Lomonosovskaya Metro

Cossack Church of the Exaltation of the Church

This church stands on the site of the oldest cemeteries and churches in St. Petersburg. It is also known for having the largest Cossack congregation, which is why it is known as the Cossack Church. Unfortunately, this church is undergoing major reconstruction. I don't think this church has fully seen a service in over 100 years. In fact, I think any services on this location are reserved for the small chapels on the grounds if even that.

Volkov Cemetery (Literary Footpath)

This church was originally the location of the largest German Lutheran cemeteries. That changed, and many famous writers, poets, actors, etc. are now buried in the cemetery. The picture above is the head stone of Galina Kovalev, a Soviet and Russian (she died in 1995) opera singer and teacher.

Day 2

Central Railway Muesum

[There is no image for this one as we decided not to pay for photography. We will have to go back.]

This museum covers the history of the Russian railway system. It was very interesting and informative. If you like trains, you HAVE to go to this museum. If you don't like trains, you still need to go.

Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas

This church was built for the sailors who had settled in the area. It became a Naval Cathedral in 1762 under Catherine II. It is one of the last remaining examples of true Baroque architecture.

Ysupov Palace

This palace is amazingly beautiful. While you have to pay for photography here, I highly recommend it. I think we would have greatly regretted it otherwise. Just know that this palace can get rather crowded with tour groups.

Day 3

Kazan Cathedral

This cathedral was named after the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is housed there. This also used to be the location of the Museum of Religion and Atheism.

Monument to Peter the Great (The Bronze Horseman)

This statue was built by order of Catherine the Great to commemorate the greatest Russian before her to have the throne. One the side of the statue it reads Petro Primo Catharina Secunda: Latin on one side; Russian on the other.

Day 5

The Hermitage

To be more specific, we visited the Winter Palace. This is one really pretty and slightly over glorified art Gallery. Catherine the Great loved to collect art. I mean LOVED to collect art. The entire museum is covered in paintings and statues. Don't get me wrong, it is very beautiful, but I get museumed out quickly here.

Day 6

Troitskiy Cathedral

This cathedral is not only one of the most beautiful cathedrals in St. Petersburg, it also has cannons in front of it. It served as a regimental cathedral and has plaques of regimental officers who have died on its walls. This cathedral has had important icons stolen and, in 2006, it burned. Luckily many of its renowned icons were saved and there was no major damage to the cathedral outside of the copulas. Reconstruction will, most likely, be forever ongoing.

Day 7

Mariinsky Theatre.

So this hasn't actually happened yet. The play is in an hour. I will definitely tell you about it! ^_^